Is peritoneal reflection the best anatomical repair landmark in experimental colorectal surgery on rats?

Purpose: To validate Peyer's patch as an anatomical repair landmark for colorectal surgery in rats and to measure the collagen content in segments of the colon containing or not containing Peyer's patch.

Methods: The distance between Peyer's patch and the peritoneal reflection was measured in forty-five Wistar rats. The colon and rectum were resected for quantification of collagen content by means of computer-assisted image analysis in regions of the colon with and without Peyer's patch.